From Approximant to Fricative: A French Substitution (Im)Possibility of Evbuomwan’s Edo Hypothesis

This is a French investigation into Evbuomwan’s Edo stance on the transition from the approximant /j/ to the fricative /ʒ/ by Edo Native Speakers (ENSs) in their Edo speech tokens. This research was therefore initiated to ascertain if this transition extends to other languages, using French as a language of choice. The data for the study were elicited from Edo French Speakers (EFSs) in the Nigeria French Language Village (NFLV), Badagry, Lagos. The theoretical framework was hinged on Chomsky & Halle’s Generative Phonology (GP), coupled with Distinctive Features, and explored both quantitative and qualitative analyses. It was discovered that the informants correctly realised the French speech tokens in both the initial and medial positions, but an insignificant 0.5% fricatisation in the final word position was observed, giving a theoretical explanation that an approximant that is [+son] was realised as a fricative that is [-son] in a vocalic environment that is [+son]. The paper thus concluded that this transition/substitution is infeasible in French, as any attempt could jeopardise meaning in French, unlike in Edo.